CARLOS GHOSN

Yes, it's much too early to jump to conclusions, but even the suggestion that Carlos Ghosn committed corporate fraud is an insult to this man, his character and his many achievements.

I, and many other close friends, have met Ghosn and he is as straight up a guy as you would want leading your company.

Two very close auto industry friends of mine have worked very closely under him, separately, for years and have the highest regard for what he has done to pull Nissan back from the abyss, and to create the very strong Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi-Alliance.

Ghosn has also signed a number of joint ventures with Daimler AG Chairman, Dieter Zetsche (another executive with an unblemished record, and honest character), and I am certain that Zetsche would never have dealt with someone even remotely capable of corporate fraud.

My guess is that this is the work of a strong cabal inside Nissan which wants to get rid of Carlos Ghosn, because they are suffering major loss of face that it was this Brazilian-born 'wunderkind' who pulled Nissan back from the abyss.

The current senior Nissan management are in fact a bunch of old dogma donkeys, who want Ghosn out, and will do anything to achieve that.

It wouldn't surprise me that any fair and transparent investigation will show that it was Nissan itself which was responsible for under-reporting Ghosn's Japanese incomes, via its own Japanese federal filings.

How easy would it be to 'fiddle the figures' over a period of years, and then call 'foul'.

Let's wait and see how this plays out, but personally, I wouldn't believe any statement that comes from the Nissan Japan PR machine.

For starters, the head of Nissan PR in Japan can't even speak or read English!

NOTE: I have sought advice from an Australian-born accountant who spent 20 years in corporate Japan, dealing with tax and income filings. He says it is actually Nissan's responsibility to ensure the remuneration filings are correct.

His initial reaction is interesting. His first question is: "Why would the head of the company which Ghosn saved from certain financial collapse (a well-known circumstance in corporate Japan), be the person who reports Ghosn for inaccurately submitting his details?"

His reaction continued: "It is well known in Tokyo that the Japanese Nissan hierarchy despise Ghosn, and have actively been seeking any way to have him barred from any future influence at Nissan."

HONDA IN F1 - SADNESS AT SAKURA, MISERY AT MILTON KEYNES

I vividly remember when Honda in F1 was recognized as a real force to be reckoned with.

I was too young to see Ronnie Bucknam and Richie Ginther race for the upstart Japanese team, and claim points with the original Honda F1 car. Honda designed and built its own chassis, along with its powerful home-grown engine.

Richie Ginther driving the Honda RA272, scored a win in just its second year, in Mexico, powered by the mighty RA271E V12 cylinder 1.5L engine!

The engine was transversely-mounted and compared to its competitors, often blasted away from the standing start. It produced 230hp at 13,000rpm.

Honda led the Mexican GP from start to finish, making it the first Japanese brand ever to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Then came the glory years.

First with Williams (23 wins between 1983-87), and then with McLaren. Keke Rosberg, and then Nigel Mansell put the F1 world on notice; and then came wins from 1988 onwards with McLaren-Hondas driven by Alain Prost and the late, great Ayrton Senna.

I attended the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show, and on Press Day, stopped by the Honda Racing display, checking out the Frank Dernie-designed Williams FW11 chassis, and the latest 1.5L RA167-E V6 engine.

I was virtually alone at the time, and was approached by a Honda Executive and we discussed Formula One. The executive turned out to be one of the designers of the original RA272 1964 F1 car, and we discussed where the ideas and conception for the 1964 design had emanated. He confided that Lola's Derrick White had provided valuable guidance, but it was all-Honda.

He sighed, and said that the facts were that you either build your own unique chassis; you could ‘copy’ someone else’s; or you ‘buy’ a chassis design from a British F1 specialist.

He said Honda had decided that Williams could provide the perfect test bed, and race chassis, and Honda could just concentrate on what it did best – engines.

He then introduced me to the Head of Honda F1’s engine team Yoshitoshi Sakurai (right), and despite his limited English, I could recognise ‘a driving force’ when I saw one. Sakurai was the man who designed the championship-winning RA167E engine for 1987!

The 1987 F1 season turned out very well for Honda, resulting in 23 wins and 19 pole positions!

As an engine supplier Honda went on to win both 1988 and 1992 Australian Grands Prix.

Honda-powered cars won 71 Grands Prix by the end of the 1992 season, 69 of them as an engine supplier between 1983 and 1992. Williams had 23 wins (75 races) and Lotus 2 wins (32 races) while McLaren gave the Japanese company 44 wins from 80 starts with the team.

However, since Honda’s return to F1 in 2015, it has been a dismal period for the mighty Japanese company. Failure after failure of its engines has led to the ignominious position as the laughing stock of F1.

Honda cites the complexity of the twin hybrid design in the current formula, and that it had started well after teams like Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault, which had built up both experience, and thus reliable performance.

It is a sad indictment on the image of a company which for decades has been highly-respected for the quality, innovation and brilliance of its engine designs – not forgetting its many victories in motorcycle events, and touring and sports cars.

Now that Honda has signed on with Red Bull for 2019, there is even greater pressure on Honda to deliver!

It’s not too dramatic to say that next year will be make or break for Honda.

The team management bravely says it is confident its engines will be competitive, powerful, fast and reliable from the get-go – but that prediction will have to wait to be carefully evaluated, only after winter testing begins next year in Spain.

Personally, I dearly want to see Honda return to the F1 winners' circle again. I have so much admiration for this wonderful company started by Siochiro Honda, a man respected by everyone in the automotive world.

CHEVY CAMARO - RIDE 'EM COWBOY

It’s not the same as riding a bucking bronco like, say, an unbroken mustang, but it’s not far from the experience. Driving the latest Camaro delivers huge power reserves, tenacious grip, deep guttural roaring, and a wild ride. This car is all muscle.

Thanks to the impeccable workmanship at Holden Special Vehicles in Melbourne, Australians can now get a taste of ‘that other pony car’ in right-hand-drive. HSV does the conversion locally, but its constrained production potential limits the first year’s supply to just 550 cars.

If you lusted after the now defunct Holden Commodore V8, then I reckon you’d better sign up for the AUD$86,000 Chevy – they’re going to be snapped up quickly, once the word gets out.

Make no mistake, despite its prodigious performance and grip, you won’t be comparing this car to any of Italy's sophisticated prancing horses and charging bulls.

The Camaro is raw, rambunctious, racy, and tons of fun.

After I’d been on my special section of test road for a while I suddenly realized how relatively irrelevant the paddle shifters are. If you want to go fast, just floor the gas pedal – and hang on for what comes next.

The rumbling rises to raucous growling, and the Camaro takes off into the distance at warp speed.

Camaro is every bit a match for Ford’s Mustang. Termed ‘pony cars’ in the 60's these two cars became iconic legends, very quickly, to many fans around the world.

However, the only reason you are seeing the Generation 6 Camaro Down Under is because of GM Holden’s decision to shut down the manufacture of the famous V8 Commodore. Had that car survived, nobody would have bothered cranking up the processes to convert Camaros to RHD.

This exercise has cost millions, as HSV shifts its focus from turning out sporty Commodores, to sexy Camaros, OTT SUVs and trucks. But, whilst many Australian component companies, which supported the three manufacturers (Holden/Ford/Toyota) have either suffered from drastically-reduced revenues, or shut up shop, the RHD Camaro is a truly good news story for the Australian companies which have played a major role in the execution of the program.

This is a list of Australian suppliers for the RHD conversion program:

Technically, Chevrolet’s 6.2L Generation V LT1 Direct Injection V8 engine is mated to a GM-built 8-speed, paddle-shift automatic transmission, and generates up to 339kW of power and a lofty 617Nm of torque.

With variable Valve Timing and Active Fuel Management, the LT1 offers efficiency when you want it and an abundance of power when you need it. 

Like a number of multi-cylinder engines, the Camaro’s V8 shuts down four cylinders when the fuel consumption falls below 12 l/100km. It is a seamless change, and driven carefully you can achieve surprising fuel economy. 

The vehicle’s Independent Rear Suspension, with twin-tube shock absorbers, provides a well-planted connection to the road. Brakes are Brembo light-weight, front & rear, with fixed calipers. 

High Intensity Discharge headlamps deliver front-end appeal while stylish 20”, 5-split-spoke alloys (8.5” front & 9.5” rear) are wrapped in 245/40ZR20 (front) and 275/35ZR20 (rear) Goodyear Eagle tyres.

From a ride and handling perspective HSV has preserved all the spring/damper/rollbar settings developed in the USA, HSV just does the RHD conversion. Having said that I see no reason to change it. The ride is undoubtedly firm, and at high speed on indifferent surfaces it has a tendency to 'tramline', but overall it's a good balance.

This Camaro corners like it's on rails, helped along by raw power!

As you can imagine, when you take on the exercise of shifting the steering wheel from left to right, there are myriad, small elements, which need to be reproduced locally.

The test car was an impeccable example of tight margins, high quality materials, excellent fit and finish, and the impression that this car just rolled off a regular production line.

AUD$10 million has been invested in the program, and I believe it will pay off big time.

Especially if we see Camaros joining the grids for future rounds of the Supercars championship.

Part of that multi-million dollar spend was a lot of on-road testing, in addition to many laps at the Lang Lang Proving Ground, but I'll bet the residents of the Red Centre hardly bothered looking up when the Camaros flashed past.

They're very used to a lot of European exoticars blasting up and down the Stuart Highway between Darwin and 'The Alice', during the fiery Australian summer.

Camaro pre-production cars at Coober Pedy (South Australia), and Uluru (Northern Territory)

During my test drive, jumping in an out, taking photos, I was certainly glad of the seat cooling - that was much appreciated on a very hot day.

Talking of seats, like the Mustang, you can forget about anything but legless beings in the back seat, this car is all about the driver and front seat passenger.

The design of Gen.6 was managed from the top at the Chevrolet Performance Studio, by Tom Peters (top). The interior was done by Ryan Vaughan (below).

The surfacing changes between Sangyup Lee’s Gen5 car and the Gen6 car are quite significant, but it’s all about refining the lines, and the ‘jewelry’, such as grille openings, lamps, sidelines, rooflines and fenders. It is significant enough to give the Gen6 car a really different personality.

I know I’m guilty of ramping up my fondness and admiration for European design, but the teams behind these American muscle cars are designing for a specific home-grown audience, which has distinct preferences in just ‘how’ a muscle car should look – and I think both Gen 5 and 6 Camaros achieved their objectives.

For Australians brought up on the image of mid-60s American muscle cars, the Gen6 Camaro has arrived at just the right time, as Ford tries to steal the limelight with its Mustang GT.

In their way, Camaro and Mustang are great cars, and I reckon the people who put them in their garage will be very happy with their choice.

Even for me - it was a blast, from the past!

VALÉ - SISTO MALASPINA

I would like to pay my own pathetically-insignificant mark of condolence for the tragic murder of Sisto Malaspina in Melbourne last week by an Islamic terrorist.

I dined, and paused for coffee many times, during my trips to Melbourne at Pellegrini's Espresso Bar.

Sisto was always jolly, welcoming and all over the place, making sure his customers - regular and infrequent - were happy too.

Chris de Fraga (Photo: GoAuto News)

I enjoyed a close friendship with the motoring editor of The Age, Chris de Fraga, who tragically died of cancer in 2017.

Whenever I was in town, Chris and I would regularly meet for either a lunch at the bar, or a coffee and cake, at Pellegrini's.

It was a ritual I enjoyed immensely, because following my first trip to Italy in 1976, I simply loved the atmosphere, the fraternity, the noise and chaos of the place - it was just like Little Italy in Australia.

Farewell Sisto, you and your spirit will be sadly missed at Pellegrini's, now, and forever.

I support the Australian Government's decision to expel all those guilty of either planning, or executing acts of terror, from this country.

And, my message to any Muslims who complain about living in Australia, and who are agitating for Sharia Law - if you don't like it, go back to where you came from, Australia is a free society that does not need your presence.

DESIGN DU JOUR

From time to time, it fascinates me the way competing cars often seem to look like they were designed in one studio.

Personally, I think designers should be barred from attending international motor shows, because it seems to me that they spot something someone else has done and decide, right, we'll have one like that!

Have a look at this group of recent releases. Who's been looking over whose shoulder?

HOLDEN'S FUTURE STRATEGY - YOU READ IT HERE FIRST!

On April 16, 2017, based on my own intelligence sources, and my extensive industry background, I forecast that the current Commodore and Astra would disappear once Holden’s supply contract with Groupe PSA ended.

I also forecast other dire outcomes.

Read the post here: http://www.drivingandlife.com/2018/04/theres-no-holding-holden-from-sliding.html

I even predicted the eventual departure of CEO Mark Bernhard.

That decision to terminate PSA supply means that by 2023, Holden will not offer any passenger cars in its lineup – with perhaps the exception being the next iteration of Cruze - and GM’s electric cars Bolt and Volt (well, maybe).

Like Ford in the USA, Holden will become a pure SUV/Truck company, with passenger cars represented by Cruze/Volt/Bolt, and the Chevrolet Camaro.

As we know, from 2019 Ford in the USA will only offer the Focus and the Mustang.

The Holden outcome was essentially confirmed by new Holden CEO, David Buttner, last week, during a press conference in Melbourne to launch the Holden-badged Buick Acadia 7-seat SUV.

It really doesn’t matter how much lipstick you apply to the Holden pig, its business strategy has been drastically force-changed by market conditions, shifting consumer preferences, and Holden management’s complete and total ineptitude – in the period leading up to the end of full vehicle manufacturing in Australia.

Holden, like every carmaker competing in the Australian market, could see the rapid shift to SUVs, and desertion from passenger cars – but Holden was wedded to its local Commodore, and then the future prospect of introducing ’22 new models’, many of which were passenger cars. The dye had been cast and to be fair, there was little Holden could do about it.

It’s the chasm between GM’s HQ management, and Holden’s position, 10,000km away from Detroit, which has led to chaos, confusion and a complete disconnect with Australian market.

I wish the new Holden CEO Dave Buttner very good luck in trying to resuscitate Holden back to anything like its previously dominant position in the Australian market. Everybody observing Holden’s dive from dominant, to down-the-slippery-slope incinerator-potential, must be incredulous at how this so-called professional car company has let its grasp on the market disintegrate.

It is a national tragedy for the Australian automotive industry, and for business students it’s an outstanding case study of how NOT to run a company facing, and executing a massive transition.

I now predict that if you continue to check the Top Ten brands in Australia, it could be two years or more before Holden appears again – unless its SUVs and trucks enjoy a massive sales boost which may lift them onto the list.

However, I spotted a subtle flagging in a recent press release from tiny HSV in September this year, announcing the launch of the Generation 6 Chevrolet Camaro. In the release, then CEO Mark Bernhard is quoted as welcoming the Chevrolet brand back to Australia:

Holden’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mark Bernhard, said the new agreement was a pivotal step forward for both companies:

“For a number of years, we’ve been talking about bringing customers the best vehicles from around the GM world, and today we’re proud to announce the next step in that strategy

 Our partnership with HSV, utilising their world-class engineering and design capabilities, means we’re able to work together to bring the iconic Chevrolet Camaro muscle-car and the best-selling Chevrolet Silverado pick-up to customers in Australia and New Zealand.

Today is a great day for customers”. 

In terms of vehicle branding, Bernhard also confirmed that the two Chevrolet vehicle lines would be introduced as just that: Chevrolets.

Pardon me for being cynical, but this ‘official’ re-launch of Chevrolet to Australia (under the auspices of a GM-linked company) provides GM with the potential to re-brand Holden (to Chevrolet), if Holden’s sales, brand recognition and loyalty goes further south.

I am certain Dave Buttner is more than capable of managing this sad situation, however, maybe the downward spiral has already gone too far, too fast, to allow a rescue, of the degree which would impress GM’s head honcho Mary Barra.

It’s also still possible, in the next 5-10 years that she, or her successor,  will call ‘time’ on Holden, and the brand will then dominate just the history books. 

GM PONIES UP

Let’s flashback to 1964 when Ford grabbed all the headlines at the New York Auto Show with its daring new sporty car – the Ford Mustang.

Not only does it dominate the media reports; boosting auto show attendances with the promise of instant acceptance, but it went on to sell 400,000 cars in its first year!

The GM suits in Detroit call up the heads of design, sales and marketing and the question is: “What are you guys going to do about this Mustang thing?”

To give you the response, we have to go back a couple of years. The legendary Bill Mitchell (right) is the Vice President for GM Styling, and he and a few designers were playing around with ideas for a sporty four-door coupe in the middle of 1962.

Mitchell was not only a powerful force in the GM Boardroom, but he was also a mad keen racer, who wanted to design race cars - despite a ban on any form of motor racing from the GM top brass. Finally, he got to design and successfully race the 'Stingray' (right) in 1959.

GM's Board told Mitchell to come up with ideas, because the Chevrolet Division wanted a car like Mustang in its lineup, one smaller than the boxy full-size Malibu (below). So the project was given to Chevrolet. 

Oldsmobile Design's Irvin Rybicki, left, had themed the Chevy Super Nova (above) in 1963, but that design (and the clay model) was consigned to the design studio dustbin.

Mitchell then asked the suave and sophisticated Henry Haga, who ran Chevrolet Studio 2, to design the Camaro.

(Photo: GM Archive)

Henry Haga was every bit the 'sophisticate' both in manner and dress. 

He had a keen eye for detail and it's thanks to him that Camaro design moved on very quickly from the origininal tape drawings, models and clays to the final version approved for production.

After his time at Chevrolet, Henry went on to become Design Director for Adam Opel AG in Russlesheim, Germany.

My thanks to Robert Dirig, College Archivist at the Art Centre College of Design, Pasadena, for this great photo of Henry Haga (below) working on a design at the College in 1953.

(Photo: Courtesy ArtCenter College of Design Archives)

Ford’s 1964 masterstroke was a wake-up call for GM.

General Motors, the lumbering, bureaucratic behemoth cranked up its steamroller and pressured Mitchell to ‘get his boys going on something’.

The lead-up to the design and development of the first Camaro was also fascinating for another aspect. It was the first GM car to benefit from the involvement of computers in the prep work, statistical calibrations not only of size, weight and rolling dynamics, but also guidance parameters for the production designers and engineers.

Original dimensional sketch (top left); 1964 Clay#1 (top right); 1966 tech drawing (2nd row left); 1965 Clay #2  (2nd row right);1966 clay (3rd row left); Henry Haga's 1967 final clay (3rd row right); first pilot car (4th row left); 1967MY production car (4th row right).

It took Haga and GM until 1966 to announce the Gen.1 Chevrolet Camaro, based on GM’s F-body platform, but despite the lead Mustang enjoyed in the market, the Camaro hardtop and convertible was a smash hit, selling 220,906 cars in its first year – benefitting from the famous Ford-GM rivalry among their customers.

By now Mustang’s ‘Pony Car’ nickname was part of the American automotive lexicon, and Camaro fitted right into the concept.

In response to falling sales in 1969, Bill Mitchell was asked to 'massage' the Camaro for 1970 and he produced a shape which he described as having European GT influences, which didn't cut any ice with existing Camaro fans, and it went on to sell 125,000 cars anyway.

However, 1973 was a big year for the Camaro in British Saloon Car racing, where Australian ace Frank Gardner scored significant victories with his 470hp Camaro.

Although it never ever achieved Mustang sales numbers, Camaro remained popular, but in 1990 sales fell to just 35,000 cars. Later, due to the disappearance of GM’s F-body platform, and also because of falling sales, Camaro went out of production from 2002-2010.

However, in 2010 Camaro bounced back into the limelight with the Generation 5 car (above) incorporating historic design cues, some retro references, but also a fresh face designed by one of the world’s most promising young designers, Korean-born Sangyup Lee (right).

The Gen. 5 car was built on GM’s Zeta platform, which had been created in Australia by GM-Holden to underpin all of GM’s future rear drive cars.

Yet another outstanding graduate of the famous Art Centre College of Design in Pasadena, Lee joined General Motors in 1999 to head up Corvette design. During his time in college he had also done contract design for Porsche.

After completing the Gen.5 Camaro, and leaving GM in 2010, Sangyup Lee went to work in Volkswagen’s American West Coast studio, then to Bentley design in Crewe, UK, where he worked with Luc Donckerwolke on the Bentayga SUV, and then a short stint at Pininfarina.

There’s no doubt Camaro has a strong following in the USA, but GM surprised everyone by leaving the door open for the Gen.6 version to be converted to RHD. But, that’s another story, which will follow shortly.

Sangyup Lee has now followed his Belgian colleague and is working at Hyundai, exclusively on future Genesis programs. He and Donckerwolke have already had a major influence on the latest premium Genesis concepts.

For the record, over 50 years (1967-2017) Camaro has sold 5,418,912 cars - now that's a commercial success!